Air fan heater



M. E. LAUTNER AIR FAN HEATER May 26, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 1'7, 1951 I [7t #671507. Wax Elazzirzer. @561, 572W May 26, 1953 M. LAUTNER 2,640,139

AIR FAN HEATER Filed March 17, 1951 2 Sheets$heet 2 Ina-anion max Ela i i'.

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Patented May 26, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT orric'E Max L'autner, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Knapp Monarcli Company, St. Louis, Mo a corporation of'nelaware Application-March 17, 1951'; Seria'l'No: 216,168

I 11 Claims.

1 This invention relates to an air fan heater having a. novel and inexpensive arrangementfor supporting: a fan motor and a heating element with respect to a tubular casing through which the air heated by" the heating element and cir culated bythe fan passes;

One object of the invention: is to provide a support of the-general character disclosed which is comparatively simple: and inexpensive to manufacture, yet efficiently supports the motor in: such: manner that the vibrations thereof are minimized with respect tothe tubular casing, thus providing a quietoperating appliance.

Another object'is-to provide a-motor and heating element support that can be inexpensively fabricated from wire shapes including a circular wire frame supported just inside the air circulator casing and: motor supporting wires connected therewith and extending therefrom: tothe motor, the circular frame-having means for supporting a-heating. element surrounding the-motor so that air passing through the casing is heated thereby and circulated by the fan.

A further object is to provide an arrangement. that permits a compact design of heating element and fan motor consistent with the required space surrounding the heating: element for the passage of air circulated by the fan through the casing so that the air is efficiently heated and circulated.

With these and: other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction; arrange mentand. combination of the various parts of my, air fan heaten-whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth,,-poin-ted' out in my claims andillustrat'ed iii-the accompanying. drawings, wherein:

Figure I is a vertical sectional" View through an air fan heater embodying my present invention.

Figure? is a rear elevation thereof with the rear cover remov'edl Figure 3" is an enlargedsection'al view on the line 3 -3 of Figure 1 showing the motor, the heating, eleiiientsupport', the motor and-the heatm element; the air" circulator casing being omitted:

Figure l is ai-vertical sectional viewo'n the-"line 4 -4 ofFi'gureB.

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line 5'*5 thereof and" Figure 6 is aperspectiveviewof a': portion" of the motor and heatingielement support;

On the" accompanying drawings I? have used the reference numeral ID to indicate a base which 2 may be formed of sheet meta-land- IZ a U-shaped support extending upwardly therefrom for supporting the air f an heater. The air fan heater includes a casing 14 of tubular shape which is preferably pivotally mounted with respect to the U-shaped support 12- as by pivot connections I6.

A gear cover I8 is provided for the casing I l and is ofperforate character, being shown as a grid- The front of the casing I l is open for the passage of air therefrom and-a guard 20- of suitable shape and formed of wire is provided to cover the open front to guard against contact with'the fan-mounted within the casing i4 and which will be described later.

A motor and heating element support is provided in the for-m ofa circular wire frame 22' having perforated ears; 24 secured thereto as by spot-welding or the like. At least three ofthese ears are provided as shown in Figure 3' and they are connected by screws 28 to angle brackets 26 which are spot-welded to the casing I I as shown in Figures 1 and 2'. The circular wire frame 22 is thereby supported relative to the casing.

A pair of V-shaped' motor supports formed of Wire are provided andtheir outer ends are spotwelded' to the circular wire frame :22. Their inner ends are looped to surround bolts 36 of a fan motor 32 and are secured to-the' bolts by nuts 38". A steady brace for the motor 32 is secured at its upper end by nuts 42' to the lower bolt 36 and at its lower end by a bolt- 44 to the casing [4. A fan 31 is mounted'on the shaft of the motor 32 for circulating. air through the casing [4.

A heating element HE is provided and it is supported by heating element supports 46 and 4B. The supports 45' are in the form of metal brackets provided with insulated terminals 50 and 50a and the supports 48 are in the form of ceramic elements which may be generally Q-sh'aped as shown in Figures 4 and 5 and through which the heating element HE may be thr'eadedi Theen'ds of the'heating' element are suitably connected to the terminals 50 for circuit connection to a' source of current supply under the control of a switch 52 as fully disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 214',899file'd1\'arch'l0, 1951".

My motor-and heating element support may further include a circular wire frame 54 for reinforcement purposes; the ends of the V-shaped motor supports" 30 beyond this circle extending rearwardly as shown in' Figure 1 so that connections'cari' be made" to the front of the motor bymeans f the bolts 36 and-the nuts 33 yet the heating element HEmay be located substantially surrounding the frame of the motor. Thus the heating element may be supported substantially midway between the motor frame and the casing 14 surrounding the motor so that there is an efficient flow of air thereover when the fan motor and the heating elements are energized and likewise an efficient pick-up of heat from the heating element by the air being circulated.

The supporting means for the motor and heating element as disclosed is comparatively simple to fabricate and inexpensive to manufacture yet serves efficiently as a motor mount and helps to absorb the vibration of the motor instead of transmitting it all to the casing. Accordingly, th air fan heater operates very quietly which, of course, is a desirable feature in connection with an appliance of this character.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my air fan heater without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an air fan heater, a tubular casing, a generally circular wire frame therein of somewhat smaller diameter than the inner diameter of said casing, at least three bracket connections extending from said circular wire frame to adj acent points of said casing, a pair of V-shaped wires having the ends of the Vs connected to said circular wire frame at points offset from said bracket connections and having apex portions extending inwardly relative to said casing, and a fan motor supported by said apex portions of said V-shaped wires.

2. In an air fan heater of the character disclosed, a tubular casing, a generally circular wire frame therein, spaced from said casing and supported thereby at points distributed around said circular wire frame, a pair of V-shaped motor supports having their outer ends connected to said circular wire frame at points thereof intermediate said first mentioned points extending inwardly from said wire frame, a motor supported by the inner ends thereof, and a fan on the shaft of said motor.

3. In an air fan heater, a tubular casing, a wire frame therein and spaced from the inner surface of said casing, bracket connections spanning the distance between said frame and said casing, wires connected to said frame at points offset relative to said bracket connections and extending inwardly relative to said casing, and a fan motor supported by the inner ends of said wires.

4. In an air fan heater, an air circulator casing, a circular wire frame therein, spaced from said casing and supported thereby, supports extending directly from said circular wire frame to said casing to effect such support, a pair of wire supports extending inwardly from portions of said wire frame circumferentially spaced from said supports, and a fan motor supported by the inner ends thereof.

5. In an air fan heater, a tubular casing, a wire frame therein and spaced from the inner surface of said casing, direct bracket connections between said frame and said casing, curved wires connected to said frame at points intermediate said bracket connections and extending inwardly relative to said casing, a fan motor supported by the inner ends of said wires, and a steady brace extending from said motor to said casing.

6. In an air fan heater of the character disclosed, a tubular casing, a generally circular frame therein, spaced from said casing and supported thereby, supports extending directly from said circular wire frame to said casing to effect such support, a pair of motor supports extending inwardly from said frame, a fan motor supported by the inner ends thereof, a plurality of heating element supports carried by said circular frame and projecting toward the axis of said casing, and a heating element supported by said heating element supports, beginning at one support, successively spanning the spaces between said supports and terminating at said one of said supports.

'7. In an air fan heater, a tubular casing, a generally circular wire frame therein of somewhat smaller diameter than the inner diameter of said casing, at least three bracket connections from said frame and extending directly to said casing, a pair of V-shaped wires having the ends of the VS connected to said frame at points intermediate said bracket connections and having apex portions extending inwardly relative to said casing, a fan motor supported by said apex portions of said V-shaped wires, a plurality of heating element supports carried by said frame and projecting toward the center of said casing, and a heating element supported by said heating element supports and surrounding said motor.

8. In an air fan heater of the character disclosed, a tubular casing, a generally circular wire frame therein, spaced from said casing and supported thereby, supports extending directly from said circular wire frame to said casing to effect such support, a pair of V-shaped motor supports extending inwardly from said wire frame, a motor supported by the inner ends thereof, a fan on the shaft of said motor, a plurality of heating element supports carried b said circular frame and projecting inwardly toward the axis of said casing, and a heating element supported by said heating element supports, beginning at one support, successively spanning the spaces between said supports and terminating at said one of said supports, said heating element being located in the space between said motor and said casing.

9. In an air fan heater, a tubular casing, a. circular wire frame therein of somewhat smaller diameter than the inner diameter of said casing, at least three bracket connections directly from said frame to said casing, V-shaped wires having the ends of the Vs connected to points on said frame intermediate said brackets and having apex portions extending inwardly relative to said casing, a fan motor supported by said apex portions of said V-shaped wires, a plurality of heating element supports carried by said circular frame and projecting inwardly toward the motor axis, and a heating element supported by said heating element supports.

10. In an air fan heater of the character disclosed, a tubular casing, a circular Wire frame therein spaced from said casing and supported by the casing, motor supports extending inwardly from positions on said wire frame circumferentially spaced from the points of support of said frame relative to said casing, a motor supported by the inner ends thereof, a fan on the shaft of said motor, a plurality of heating element supports carried by said circular frame and comprising insulating elements through which a heating element may be threaded and terminal elements for a heating element, and a heating element threaded through said insulating elements and having electrical connections to said terminal elements.

11. In an air fan heater, a tubular casing, a wire frame therein and supported thereby, motor supports extending inwardly from said wire 5 frame, a fan motor supported by the inner ends thereof, a plurality of heating element supports carried by said circular frame and comprising insulating elements extending from said wire frame toward the axis of said motor through which a heating element may be threaded and terminal elements also extending from said Wire frame t0- 6 ward the axis of said motor, and a heating element threaded through said: insulating elements and having electrical connections to said terminal elements.

MAX E. LAUTNER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 Number Name Date 2,158,603 Calhoun May 16, 1939 2,513,945 Kitto et a1 July 4. 1950 

